HYDROPOWER ROLE IN STAND-ALONE AND MINI GRID TO POWER SOLUTION IN AFRICA

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International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET)
Volume 9, Issue 11, November 2018, pp. 258–270, Article ID: IJMET_09_11_027
Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijmet/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=9&IType=11
ISSN Print: 0976-6340 and ISSN Online: 0976-6359
© IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed
HYDROPOWER ROLE IN STAND-ALONE AND
MINI GRID TO POWER SOLUTION IN AFRICA
Samuel A.O. Ilupeju and Freddie L. Inambao
University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Durban, South Africa
ABSTRACT
Power generation is becoming an issue of concern in developing world, especially in
Africa. There is tremendous population growth in addition to a progressive rise in the use
of electronic devices which has contributed to a greater energy consumption and need.
The three focuses of the strategic electricity plan, namely, supply option, demand
management option and the demand forecasting option are being frustrated with load
shedding management options. Energy is available and enormous, but the challenge of
converting from its existing form to useful form in the form of electricity has to be
addressed if power for all is going to be a reality.
Hydropower (HP) is clean, available, reliable, adequate and renewable. It is
established that about 70% of the earth's surface is covered by water. Engaging small
hydropower (SHP) schemes will go a long way solving the menace. Many developed
countries have installed stand-alone and mini grid system with great success. With the
enormous untapped potentials in Africa, it is time we localise installation of SHP, which
is cheaper and requires little technical know-how or skilled labour instead of depending
on large scale HP which takes years to install and also capital intensive even for nations
to handle.
KEYWORDS: Renewable energy, small hydropower, standalone, electric power
generation, mini grid, sustainable energy.
Cite this Article Samuel A.O. Ilupeju and Freddie L. Inambao, Hydropower Role in Stand-
Alone and Mini Grid to Power Solution in Africa, International Journal of Mechanical
Engineering and Technology, 9(11), 2018, pp. 258–270.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=9&IType=11
1. INTRODUCTION
In many countries, especially in Africa, sufficient power generation is being an issue of concern.
A lot of practice is engaged to balance the distribution of this inadequate, but highly significant
commodity such as energy efficiency option, domestic renewable such as solar panels and
sometimes load shedding which may result in total blackout for days. There is tremendous
population growth in addition to a progressive rise in the use of electronic devices like smart
phones, televisions and household comfort gadgets such as refrigerators, blenders and microwave
ovens, which have contributed to higher energy consumption and need. A greater number of
households without these common devices show great aspiration of having them in the nearest

future. The three focuses of the strategic electricity plan, namely, demand management option,
supply option, and the demand forecasting option are being frustrated with load shedding
management options [1]. The law of conservation of energy establishes the fact that at every
particular time, there is enough energy for human consumption, but the challenges of converting
from its existing form to a useful form of electricity has to be addressed if power for all is going
to be a reality. [2] gave an illustration on energy distribution that each m2
of the earth’s inhabitable
surface is crossed by or accessible to an average energy flux of about 500 W available from solar
and other renewable energy (RE) sources. Assume that only 4 % is harnessed, it can supply about
2 kW per 10 by 10 m area. Now let us assume an estimated population density of 500 people per
km2
in the suburban towns, consuming 2 kW per person, there will be total energy demand of
1000 kW/km2
. This volume is achievable by using just 5 % of the land for energy generation.
With the availability of sufficient RE resources for system integration to meet a major share of
energy demands, it may then be concluded that with proper harnessing methods at maximum
efficiency, renewable energy will provide adequate and continuous quantity of energy for
standard living. To meet its growing demand, Africa has an urgent need to raise the level of
investment in its power sector. There is a great need to seek other available energy sources for
sustainable economic and social growth. The majority of people in Africans lives in rural areas
using traditional biomass for cooking and live below US $1. This confirms the fact that Africa
represents about 14 % of the world’s population, whereas contributes only 4 % of the global
energy [3].
A prominent characteristic of renewable energy sources is being environmentally regulated.
Common sources include; solar, fuel cells, wind, hydro etc. depend on geographical location
which is subject to climatic situation of the environment. Climate is beyond human control, its
unpredictability makes renewable energy sources sometimes unreliable depending on method of
harnessing engaged. As a result of this, the volume of energy from renewable sources differs
from one location to another and how much of it available rest on how much of the source can be
exploited.
Conversion technique is also a function of the available resource. Each resource may be too
little to satisfy energy need for immediate environment resulting in harnessing more resources to
supply adequate energy to meet every activity. Energy conversion definitely gives us an idea of
how much energy is available in a particular environment and for what purpose can the harnessed
energy be implemented. Both factors will also put in place an economic platform to make the
facility available to other users at an affordable price taking into consideration plant maintenance
pay back.
To achieve the maximum provision of adequate power system for economic growth, it is vital
to efficiently manage stages of energy conversion process by the use of applicable technology. It
is a fact that the world population increases and material consumption depletes including fossil
used in most conventional power generation plants, bringing about increased cost of energy
generation [4]. There is great need to start maximising harnessing renewable energy sources
available by combining two or more sources. One of the challenges of combining renewable
sources is synchronisation of technologies that result due to reduction in availability per time.
This also is a major challenge integration RE into the main grid system.
One of the main sources of pollution in the world is the massive use of fossil resources in
energy production, both at domestic and industrial use categories. Greenhouse gases (GHG)
emissions are generated from major natural processes [17]. Energy related activities alone emits
about 60 % world total and about 80 % of CO2 quantity.
Due to the fact that large quantity energy storage is almost impossible, the electrical system
needs to constantly balance production and consumption [31]. As consumption varies constantly
everyday as a result of different energy use like air conditioning in heat period and heating in

Hydropower Role in Stand-Alone and Mini Grid to Power Solution in Africa
cold season over the year, therefore renewable energy is climate controlled generation and
consumption is climate controlled [17]. In urban centres where energy consumption is on the high
side, base load is provided by more efficient power plants. In rural settings, with small overall
consumption and few cottage industries, base load can be met with electricity supply from
renewable sources [24].
1.1. Electrical Loads
Before going further into exploiting sustainable, renewable sources, there is need to know the
specific load requirement to be met so as to project efficiently electricity generation. Load in a
power system varies with time daily, having a certain period of maximum power demand [5].
Electrical power generated absolutely depends on the demand side of power. In electric power
use, two load cases are significant; base load and peak load. There is more demand for electricity
in the day and generating plants are expected to work at full load [6]. The uniform load available
for use at the power plant to satisfy the enormous amount of need is called the base load which
is also the daily electricity requirement calculated by adding hourly energy requirements (Eh) for
a complete day [7]. The generating sources for the base load should be environmentally friendly,
economical and capable of generating mass quantity of energy [8]. The peak demands of the load
over and above the base load of the power plant for the time of high power demand giving a
flexible power in a sufficient amount to cope with the big load fluctuation is called peak load. It
is also the maximum power requirement at any point of the day i.e. the highest load value at any
hour. In meeting power need technically, the two loads must be significantly considered. Large
hydro power, nuclear power, fossil fuel plants are some of the technologies for sustainable base
load. For the peak load power consideration, gas thermal, hydropower, pumped storage systems
and other various generation technologies are mostly involved [5]. Considering the harmful
emissions from the electricity plants, pumped storage hydropower system are most suitable clean
and green peak load generators [9]. When renewable sources are linked to a grid back- up capacity
and for a stand –alone system energy storage is a vital issue [5]. The pumped storage system is
the best solution to the challenges of power generation for locations where there are storage lakes,
also in a place where there is varying synchronization between generation and consumption, and
where there is water shortage [10] [5]. It is also a balance in safe operation in the electricity grid
by ensuring energy demand and supply is controlled [1].
1.2. Energy Consumption Efficiency
The purpose of an electrical power system is to deliver energy in a reliable way from the
production points to the consumers [11]. This will provide insight to both grid operators, as a
strategic tool to plan grid investment and end users for sustainable energy efficiency. Energy
planning can be reviewed as a threefold structure consisting of the energy system, the system
efficiency and the system management [2].
The complete energy system may be too difficult to analyse in the urban setting. Energy use
should be considered as a function of the generation method. Some energy sources are not
matched to end users than the other, whereas in the grid supply, all sources are fed into the grid
which is then used for particular activities leading to increased energy losses as a result of
diversion into non-economic operations. The Sun primarily gives energy in two forms; heat and
light [12]. Domestic need of hot water does not need energy from fuel with an efficiency of about
30 % converted to mechanical energy while about 60 % is lost to the environment as heat. Now,
using part of the 30 % from fuel to heat water as an example is economically inefficient [2]. This
is one of the reasons why energy use should determine the energy conversion method so as to
minimise losses in achieving better system efficiency. This leads to the second aspect of energy
planning.

Efficiency is calculated as the ratio of useful energy output to the total energy input in a
particular production process. Sources of energy, conversion technology as well as end use all
contribute significantly to energy efficiency [2].
Energy management is embarked on to ensure that there is improved overall efficiency and
reduced financial losses in energy consumption. It is obvious that renewable energy conversion
technologies are usually more expensive, therefore energy waste should be reduced to the
minimal [2] [13].
One may not be able to quench coal from supplying at low demand, and energy generated
which is not used is wasted except diverted to service other aspects like Pumped Storage system
[10]. For a fuel power plant, once energy is not needed, remaining fuel is preserved. Renewable
energy is highly efficient in energy management, most especially when operated in hybrid
technology [14].
The question now is how to meet peak load in a situation as the one described above? Ideally,
power plants are to operate at the average power consumption and should buffer energy demand
when the need arises. Even though electricity storage, either as finished product (batteries) or as
potential energy (pumped storage scheme) has always been technically difficult, inefficient and
expensive but the highest demand is satisfied through additional generators [15]. PSH is not
always engaged in micro hydro generation system, work is going on in the design of complete
renewable driven micro pumped storage plant for community use [9].
2. RENEWABLE SOURCES
Simple RE technology adoption for electricity generation in a particular geographic location will
thrive on availability of abundant resources. In major part of the continent Africa, three major
renewable options are solar PV, Wind and hydropower resources. Hydropower generation is not
totally dependable; it is exposed to a major climatic challenge of drought season. Hybrid power
plant of predominant renewable sources has proven to serve effectively in rural electrification
either as standalone or grid connected [16]. With the increased integration of these resources and
complementing technologies, there is a good future for improved system efficiency and higher
sustainable renewable energy RE generation. Smart grid is described as a solution to integrating
different RE effectively [17]. Due to the necessity of smart grid, the University of KwaZulu Natal
in collaboration with the largest producer of power in Africa ESKOM have established a centre
for related studies. There is a wide room for new energy plant installation, especially in rural
areas where there is little or no electricity supply. The existing energy infrastructures, markets
and other institutional arrangements may need adapting, but there are few, if any, technical limits
of the planned system integration of RE technologies across the very broad range of present
energy supply systems worldwide, though other barriers may exist [18]. Because of the
unpredictable and intermittent nature of solar PV and wind resources, the two will be supporting
hydro generation. Now, there is need to unfold the abundance of each resource in Africa and
other regional locations within the continent to know which to integrate for the proposed power
generating structures.

Table 1 Renewable energy sources with distribution in South Africa [19].
Technology
MW allocation
in
Determination
MW capacity
in the First
Phase
MW capacity in
the Second
Phase
MW capacity in
future Phases
Onshore wind 1 850.0 MW 634.0 MW 562.5 MW 653.5 MW
Solar photovoltaic 1 450.0 MW 631.5 MW 417.1 MW 401.1 MW
Concentrated solar
power
200.0 MW 150.0 MW 50.0 MW 0.0 MW
Small hydro (≤
10MW)
75.0 MW 0.0 MW 14.3 MW 60.7 MW
Landfill gas 25.0 MW 0.0 MW 0.0 MW 25.0 MW
Biomass 12.5 MW 0.0 MW 0.0 MW 12.5 MW
Biogas 12.5 MW 0.0 MW 0.0 MW 12.5 MW
Total 3 625.0 MW 1 415.5 MW 1 043.9 MW 1 165.6 MW
2.1. Solar Photovoltaic Resource
Solar photovoltaic (SPV) system converts solar energy directly into electrical energy using semi-
conductor base materials also called modules [17]. A lot of work has been done on this technology
bringing about tremendous improvement because of distinct benefits, especially when there is the
need to satisfy remote power demand. These benefits include; easy upgrade because of the
modular panels, require no fuel, emission is zero, it can be used in isolation and can equally be
connected to the grid and also produce no noise when working [20]. Photovoltaic (PV) modular
capacity ranges from small PV system of 50 W to large grid connected Solar PV power plant of
up to 50 MW.
Many power plants are rated by the capacity ratio, which is the ratio of actual energy
generated during a period relative to the maximum possible if the generator produced its rated
output at all-time [10].
Figure 1 World solar resource showing yearly sum of global irradiance [21].

Fig. 1 reveals world solar resource, [12] gave an average of 7.0 – 8.5 kWh/m2
/day solar
radiation availability in Africa. Major concerns about renewables still point to the challenge of
sustainability. A major impairment to continuous use of SPV is the weather, time and climate
[22]. Inability to have solar power all through the day or year makes it impossible to be used as
the only power source, though the degree of unavailability is low. In a research where 30 years
weather data of European annual demand curves were analysed on a 15-minute interval [23]. It
was revealed from the analysis that 90% of the power supplied could come from renewable
energy sources and that there is only a 0.4% chance that high demand correlates with low solar
and wind generation. This disadvantage is to some extent curbed by the introduction of power
storage equipment. Inability to have large, power storage devices also pose a huge technical
challenge to the world of unlimited exploit of solar energy. At the same time it has been proved
to be a sustainable, low technical skill and a pollution free technology for rural power supply
[11]. SPV system is being supported by wind and hydropower plant in location where there is
adequate resources to develop a hybrid power plant [7].
2.2. Wind Power Resource
Wind power system has been in practice for centuries especially for on and off farm activities.
Where resource is abundant, hundreds of MW can be exploited through wind turbines. A small
wind turbine configured with SPV will supply power to a village or district mini grid. A lot of
wind turbine improvement has been done to enhance efficiency of the turbine through blade
design. Tubular tower designs minimise vibrations which will also reduce maintenance cost.
Wind turbines offer a very advantageous cost-competitive solution for off- grid applications in
rural areas. Wind generation costs have been decreasing over the years and this trend is forecast
to continue. The price of conventional energy sources, especially fossil fuels, is constantly rising,
whereas the costs of small wind are showing a gradual decline, emphasising the attractiveness of
these technologies. Reports by [24] proved costs will reduce by about 20 % by 2015 [20].
Small wind can also be combined easily in hybrid systems with hydropower, solar or diesel,
creating even more possibilities [25]. Wind – SPV hybrid will increase system reliability, this
allows each energy source to supplement each other and it is an attractive arrangement for small
loads especially on off grid and mini grid configuration [20]. It can be configured as AC mini
grid with DC coupled component suitable for rural power supply. The second configuration is a
modular AC system integrating SPV power input and battery for storage. This arrangement
accommodates larger loads and an average life span of 20 years with a capacity factor of 30 %.
The figure below reveals the distribution of world wind resource with abundance in Africa.

Figure 2 World wind resource showing Africa [12].
2.3. Hydropower Resource
More emphasis will be on hydropower as our main power source. HP contributes enormously to
achieving base load in several countries worldwide, either as Large HP or Small HP. Small hydro-
power projects most time function on ‘run off river’ schemes that divert water through civil
structures into turbine converting energy in flowing water into mechanical power which is then
converted to electricity [26]. Most small hydropower systems are run off river, especially pico
and micro plants.
Plant size is a function of many factors ranging from topology, design height, flow, river-size,
availability of storage structures, environmental impacts, other water use, available design
structures, end-users, appropriate technology and many others [26]. All this listed conditions also
describe the design components (turbine type, generator size, and head) which will invariably
determine plant cost. Most micro and mini hydro plant projects supply power between 100 kW
to 1 MW, enough for stand-alone, especially when the location is far from the main grid or
possibly supply the main grid.
Hydropower (HP) is clean, available, reliable, adequate and renewable. It is established that
about 70% of the earth's surface is covered by water. Engaging small hydropower (SHP) schemes
will go a long way solving the menace [27]. Many countries have installed standalone and mini
grid system with great success [3]. With the enormous untapped potentials in Africa [28], it is
time of SHP installation is adapted fully in Africa on standalone basis which is cheaper and
requires little technical know-how or skilled labour instead of depending on large scale HP which
takes years to install and also capital intensive even for nations to invest in. Mini hydro is
described as an important option as it is suitable for decentralize and private sector investment.
Uganda and Rwanda have programmes in place to specifically foster private sector participation
in this field [3]. This paper will consider the requirement for types of standalone SHP and the
economic importance of engaging them in rural and suburban settlements.
2.3.1. Africa Hydropower Overview
The West Africa region has installed capacity of about 25% of total African capacity, Nigeria and
Ghana are the biggest LHP contributors [10]. Small hydro potential for Nigeria has been assessed
at 824 MW, over 278 unexploited sites have been identified of which only 4% has been exploited
[29] [10]. [28] conducted a survey in five East African countries to estimate SHP potentials in
the region. The countries are Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The report shows

there is enormous potential in the region. Uganda is among the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa
with the lowest electricity distribution rates with only 6 % of the total population have access to
electric power. Power sources depend on fuel generating sets, car batteries and solar PV systems
to achieve a minimum level of electricity supply and six pico hydro power sites have been
developed in Uganda [30]. In Burundi, 99% of the country’s utility comes from HP. There is still
more room for further development, especially in micro, mini and small hydropower capacity
[28]. Potentials in North African countries is great with much development from the region but
[31] still reported more potentials are still untapped. Southern African countries are not left out
in hydro potentials; there are over 8000 potential sites for SHP in Kwa-Zulu Natal and Eastern
Cape provinces of South Africa alone [10]. With great potentials in Zambia, installed SHP
capacity is 62 MW [31]. Mozambique has the largest LHP installed capacity of 2500 MW but
very little SHP installed capacity (0.1MW) [10]. Central Africa is another region with tremendous
hydro-potentials. HP potential is about 419 000 MW with installed capacity of around 3 816 MW
for large HP and the Democratic Republic of Congo contributes the greatest. Only 1% of its
potential capacity is exploited and SHP is poorly developed in the Central Region just like the
other four regions [31].
South Africa alone produces about 390 TWh of electricity with amounts to about 70 % of
total generation in the sub- Sahara Africa. In 2007, the average generation capacity of sub-Sahara
Africa was only about 110 MW per million inhabitants. Seychelles was about 1,110 MW, South
Africa follows with 880 MW, while in Guinea and Togo, the per million inhabitants MW was
about 15 [32]. Comparing the figures to what is obtainable in developed countries; one will be
convinced of the need for energy increase in Africa. The generation capacity in the European
Union is about 1,650 MW per million inhabitants, and in the U.S. it is 3,320.
2.3.2. Small Hydropower Components
[23] identified three basic challenges to HP especially at large scale capacity. Firstly, large dams
are in many cases environmentally not sustainable. They are also most times located far away
from existing grids. Thirdly, large HP is very capital intensive project and has very long lead
times. For this work, more emphasis will be on small HP systems.
A typical micro hydroelectric power project consists of civil and electromechanical
components. The civil aspect takes care of structures from intake down to penstock [10] [20].
The turbine aspect of the plant converts energy in water to mechanical energy at the shaft of the
turbine is the mechanical conversion while conversion of energy at the shaft constitutes the
electrical aspect. Electrical energy output is transmitted through cable and wires to the end-users
[33]. The height between the source and power house, discharge, direction of flow, all have a part
in turbine selection [34]. Turbines are classified as impulse or reaction turbines. Impulse turbines
are Pelton, Crossflow, Turgo etc. characterised for high head and low flow. Reaction turbines
perform well with low head and high flow and these include Francis, Kaplan, Bulb etc. [13].
Though there is no clear demarcation between high head and low head as what is categorised as
high for a micro plant with Pelton turbine could be low head for a mini plant with Francis turbine.
A pico scheme is easy to install because may not need penstock, which makes it very cheap to
construct [26] [34]. Plant efficiency depends on many factors including loading, site conditions
and precipitation. Variation in equipment costs of micro and pico hydro scheme is very little [20].
Most mini hydroelectric power plants also work ‘run-off river’ with some work going in
maximising small hydro power generation by water reuse through pumped storage system [34].
With cheap plant construction, environmental friendly configuration, possibility of independence
and continuous power supply advantage. A mini power project has a capacity ratio of 45 %, an
average plant cost if $1 800/kW and is commonly adopted by private investors [20].

Considering the challenge of climate in renewable energy generation, it is of great importance
to closely consider the possibility of erratic climate change as a result of the global warming so
as to avoid putting the sustainability of hydropower generation at risk. In an attempt to ensure the
base load is met at all times, the author is working on introducing the possibility of integrating a
micro pumped storage facility [5]. This will serve as a non-polluting storage facility to produce
electricity as demanded.
3. SMART GRID AS SOLUTION
3.1. Energy Losses
Generated electric power is transported through the main grid from the generator to the customer
as high voltage through a long distance transmission and the delivered to distribution networks
as low voltage.
Electricity topology flows from generation, transmission, distribution and this is not complete
without good knowledge of consumption demand by the end users [20]. Transmission and
distribution of electricity through grid needs to meet certain requirements in achieving this in a
renewable energy environment. Some of these requirements are generator size, annual output,
cost of transmission and the cost of distribution [35].
Losses account for about 9 % of electricity produced worldwide as a result of transmission
and distribution, cutting down supply in ordinary electrical grids [11]. The effect is considerably
significant in long transmission line. A report estimated the amount of power that would be lost
during the delivery of 2000 MW from Cahora Bassa in Mozambique through the 1500-km line
to South Africa as nearly equal to the entire consumption capacity of the host generating country.
In a report by [11, 32] about 585 million people in sub-Saharan Africa (about 70 % of the
population) had no access to electricity. In Nicaragua, more than 58 % of the rural population
lack access to electric power [32]. By 2030, the figure for sub-Saharan Africa is expected to rise
significantly to about 652 million people with over 80 % of this group living in rural areas [32].
Research showed that losses due to distribution account for over 2/3 of the total delivery losses.
The high losses in distribution is attributed to resistance losses in conductors are proportional to
the square of the electric current [20]. Lower voltage translates distribution to higher current flow,
making distribution system less efficient. For this reason, for rural energy production,
consumption should be done within the region to avoid unnecessary waste of power.
3.2. Aspect of Distribution Interconnection
The issue of ‘grid’ either ‘smart’, ‘mini’, ‘micro’, or ‘just’ is basically for transmission and
distribution of electric power from the producer to the consumers. There are many options
involved in grid technology. [36] described various options a mini grid. The operator can connect
its plant either as a small power producer SPPs or as a small power distributor SPDs. When an
operator generates and supplies the main grid, SPP. If on the other hand buys from the grid and
resell it to consumers using the existing distribution network, becoming a SPD. Also the operator
can become both an SPP and an SPD.
Mini grids minimise the cost of interconnection and avoids the acquisition of huge technical
materials like transformers, lines, switchgears, towers etc. [36].
For a typical HP plant, the frequency of a generator depends on the speed of rotation at the
shaft achieved by balancing the pressure and flow rate of water running the turbine and the
electrical load quantity. In an isolated mini grid of renewable energy sources, plant generator
must maintain frequency control and this is achieved by engaging two methods [36]. The first
one uses a mechanical controller that widens supply valve as soon as the system detects a drop in
frequency, while it closes the valve when excessive frequency is detected. The other method is

engaging ELC to control generator load [13]. It is a common technology used in micro grid HP
system where frequency is controlled by adding progressively higher loads called design load to
slow down the shaft speed until exact load is obtained for proper AC frequency. In order to
maintain this design load, ELC typically diverts excess load to restive heating element [13].
3.3. Grid and Smart Grid Technology
Among the renewable energy sources, the wind and solar are variable sources that are only
partially predictable, while hydropower are controllable sources [18]. Renewable electricity
production could comprise power plants from mentioned sources geographically located in a
specific area connected or not connected to the transmission grid for the purpose of distributing
needed quantity of load per time. The intermittent and unpredictable nature of renewable sources
makes it difficult to actually balance energy generation and distribution as required for grid
stability because change in rotational frequency [36]. To now integrate sources of unstable power
generation technologies into a reliable network, smart electrical grid is inevitable [37].
This work identifies the functionality and reliability of a grid that arise from the integration
of renewable energy sources for sub-urban community or a typical farm area. Small-hydro
systems are simple, reasonably reliable, low cost, provide cheap electricity, scalable, standalone
and continuous power without the need for environmental safeguards. Communities consume
electricity, basically for domestic purposes like lighting, media, heating and cooking while for
few commercial uses such as food processing, preservation (refrigeration), handling and other
operations.
To avert severe environmental failure, energy policies must look into the massive integration
of renewable resources and improvement of the electric system [37]. A Smart Grid is an
electricity grid that allows the massive integration of unpredictable and intermittent renewable
sources, and distributes power highly efficiently to end users [37]. It is an electricity network that
uses distributed energy resources and advanced communication and control technologies to
deliver electricity more cost effectively, with lower greenhouse intensity and with active
involvement of the customers [11]. Smart grid has more intelligence than the initial existing grid,
which allows a balance of power from various unpredictable generators from non- constant
renewable sources resulting in continuous variable load [17]. A smart grid also gives an exclusive
opportunity for electrification of suburban and rural settlements out of reach of main grid that
requires electrification for daily living and other economic activities most especially in the sub-
Sahara regions [38].
Investors in Cambodia used mini grid distribution system to supply diesel generator produced
sometime with wiring tied to trees before being connected to their customers [36]. With the
expansion of main grid across rural areas, there was fear of being out of business. A Regulatory
body in Cambodia resolved this problem by setting technical standards to connect to the main
grid by the introduction of bulk purchase tariffs and retail purchase tariffs. A different scenario
in Sagar Island in India, where 11 solar generating stations with combined capacity of 500 kW,
supplied power to business and domestic purpose with an average of 1400 households [36].
Standalone plants can be significantly manned when proper billing is put in place, even at the
district levels.
This situation is clearly reflected in the current map of sub-Saharan Africa’s grid either not
well interconnected or non-existing in some areas. [38] reported that while some authors
suggested introduction of ‘Just Grid’ others proposed implementation of ‘Smart Grid’. ‘Just Grid’
will help guarantee access to modern energy services without marginalizing the poor while Smart
Grids will help provide an efficient mechanism to address the massive electricity infrastructure
building requirements. The two are to provide distribution of power systems to contribute towards
equitable and inclusive global, economic and social development [38]. The average lifetime of a

grid is considered to be around 20-30 years based on depreciation calculations, but can be stand
more 50 years if properly maintained. For this reason, a good thumb rule is that operation and
maintenance cost of power distribution facilities should be between 1/8 and 1/30 of capital on
annual basis [20].
3. CONCLUSIONS
HP has been identified as a major source for providing adequate electricity to meet base load in
developing countries either through conventional or pumped storage technology. From the data
provided, a large percentage of SHP potential is untapped, which is a loss to society. Wind and
solar can deliver quite an appreciable amount of electricity likewise. The resources are enormous
enough to provide needed electrical power to make life better, especially for people living in poor
urban or rural areas in Africa. When the resources are explored, it will result in economy boost
in communities. There is a ready market for generated power, as policies are on ground to
encourage investors to explore hydro projects. There is a need to involve private investors to
participate in the development of the resources. These renewable energy sources are clean and
available, environmentally, widespread and substantial.
Smart grid is the answer to rural and standalone electricity distribution and should be
embraced in Africa.
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